Westfield Washington Schools

Transcription

1 Westfield Washington Schools Non-certificated Employee Handbook (excluding bus drivers & student support programs) Approved September 14, 2004 Revised May 10, 2005; Revised May 9, 2006; Revised May 8, 2007, Revised May 13, 2008, Revised May 12, 2009; Revised June 8, 2010, Revised May 10, 2011; Revised May 8, 2012, May 14, 2013, May 13, 2014

2 Table of Contents I. EMPLOYEE RELATIONS... 1 A. Non-certificated Personnel... 1 B. Personal and Professional Conduct... 1 C. Discipline... 1 D. Working Conditions/Practices... 2 E. Appearance and Attire... 3 II. HOURS OF WORK... 3 A. Determination of Hours... 3 B. Pay Dates... 3 C. Full-time Employees (working 30 or more hours per week)... 3 D. Part-time Employees (working fewer than 30 hours per week)... 3 E. Tardiness and Absences... 4 F. Overtime... 5 G. Lunch Time... 5 H. Changes of Work Schedule Due to Inclement Weather School Cancellation School Delays Early Dismissal Extended Work Days Make-up Days... 6 E. Personal Business Days (See Benefit Sheet)... 7 F. Sick and Family Illness Leave Days (See Benefit Sheet)... 7 G. Vacation (See Benefit Sheet)... 7 H. Medical Leave of Absence... 8 I. Bereavement Leave... 8 J. Jury Duty/Court Leave... 9 K. Family Medical Leave Act Leave of Absence... 9 L. Other Leave... 9 M. Voluntary Separation III. COMPENSATION A. Direct Deposit B. Evaluation IV. EMPLOYEE BENEFITS A. Benefit Sheets B. General Policies Nondiscrimination Use of Internet, Intranet, , Voic , and Telephone Complaints and Appeals Manual Policy Changes in Policy Job Duties V. RECEIPT OF NON-CERTIFICATED EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK... 12

3 Handbook for Non-certificated Personnel I. EMPLOYEE RELATIONS A. Non-certificated Personnel Non-certificated personnel are defined as employees of Westfield Washington Schools who are not required to have a license issued by the Indiana Department of Education in order to be hired to perform a specific duty in the corporation. All non-certificated personnel are hired as at-will employees, which means either party (school corporation or the employee) may terminate employment at any time, for any reason or no reason. Sick and personal business days (where applicable) will be prorated based upon the employee s work year. Any applicable vacation days will be computed at the completion of one year of service. Should a part-time employee transfer into a full-time position, vacation days will be computed at the completion of one year of service in that new position. B. Personal and Professional Conduct Westfield Washington Schools works very hard to hire people of outstanding character with a strong work ethic. It is the policy of Westfield Washington Schools to maintain a learning and working environment that is free from workplace harassment. It shall be a violation of this policy for any employee to harass another employee or student through conduct or communications of a sexual nature. (Policy ) In addition, general harassment of an employee by means of verbal intimidation or other actions that cause an employee to feel uncomfortable in his/her work environment is not permitted. C. Discipline Non-certificated personnel may be discharged from the school corporation for the following infractions: 1. Direct disobedience to orders or instruction 2. Substance abuse 3. Incompetence 4. Breach of employment duties 5. Unfaithfulness in performance of duties 6. Failure to conform to the rules and regulations of the corporation or the schools 7. Physical inability to perform duties* 8. Workplace harassment 9. Admission of a crime 10. Unsatisfactory performance 11. Gross misconduct 1

4 12. Violation of any rule, policy, or procedure 13. Other just cause *Physical inability will be determined by a competent physician to be selected by Westfield Washington Schools. The school corporation will fully comply with provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991 as amended. Immediate discharge will be considered for infractions that involve items 1 or 2 listed above. If an employee is involuntarily terminated by the school corporation, the employee will not be eligible for payment of any paid time off (PTO), e.g. sick, family illness, comp time, personal business and/or vacation. The employee may not use PTO during the period of time from notification of termination to the date of departure, nor may PTO be accrued. Other infractions may be dealt with in one or more of the following procedures: Conference and written warning Day or days off the job without pay Dismissal from the job Conferences will be held with the appropriate supervisor. A written statement concerning the items discussed at the conference will be given to the employee. A copy of these documents (signed by the employee or witness acknowledging that the items were discussed) will be placed in the employee s personnel file. D. Working Conditions/Practices Westfield Washington Schools attempts to provide an adequate workplace for its employees. Limited resources of taxpayers dollars and considerable oversight by Federal and State laws, rules and regulations minimizes the options available for this purpose. We serve the public. Our image and credibility are constantly under a microscope by those who would question our productivity, our professionalism and our use of the responsibility as gatekeeper of the public trust. Our ability to maintain a professional and productive atmosphere is directly impacted by the work environment we establish and display to anyone visiting or passing through our workplace. Excessive and/or constant non-work related activities, along with perceived on-going unproductive work time, creates negative impressions of our true levels of commitment and responsibility. As such, excessive and/or constant non-work related activities are perceived as ongoing unproductive work could lead to disciplinary action or dismissal. Workstations and surrounding areas should provide functionality, professionalism, pride, and personalization within good taste. 2

5 E. Appearance and Attire Employees contribute to the feeling and reputation of Westfield Washington Schools in the way they present themselves. Appearance is essential to a favorable impression with the public. Good grooming, hygiene, and appropriate dress reflect employee pride and inspire the public s confidence. All school employees will report to work attired in a manner that is appropriate for the work being performed, and which will not jeopardize the safety of themselves or their fellow employees. It should be understood that the employee represents the school district and his/her dress, grooming, and personal cleanliness should be such that it does not reflect poorly on himself/herself or on the school district. Employees who appear for work inappropriately dressed will be sent home and directed to return to work in proper attire. Under such a circumstance, employees will not be compensated for the time away from work. II. HOURS OF WORK A. Determination of Hours The maximum number of hours worked per week will be based on hours as established by the Board of School Trustees for each employee. B. Pay Dates All non-certificated personnel are paid on the 5 th and 20 th of each month unless those dates fall on a weekend or holiday. If the 5 th or 20 th of the month falls on a weekend or holiday, pay will be received the work day immediately before the weekend or holiday. C. Full-time Employees (working 30 or more hours per week) Non-certificated personnel working thirty (30) or more hours per week shall be considered full-time employees and are eligible for benefits. Full-time noncertificated employees are paid on a 24 annual pay schedule. Employees are required to report any PTO or comp time to SubFinder, the employee attendance system, at 896-1SUB ( ) or subfinder wws.k12.in.us/webconnect/login/login.asp at the earliest possible time. In the event of overtime, including comp time (must be pre-approved and include reason for comp/overtime), unpaid time, or working a non-pay status day, employees are required to complete the Exception Time Report form to record time earned/used on a weekly basis. Forms must be signed by the supervisor and turned into the Human Resources Department ( HR Department ). The HR Department will track comp time and the information will be shared with the building principals and Department heads. D. Part-time Employees (working fewer than 30 hours per week) Non-certificated personnel working fewer than 30 hours per week shall be considered part-time employees and are not eligible for benefits. 3

6 All part-time non-certificated employees are paid by the number of hours worked during a pay period. Hours of work, as determined by job category, will be reported each pay period to the corporation s Payroll Department by the employee s immediate supervisor. This report will be made on an individual time sheet for each employee as provided by the Payroll Department. To download the time sheet, go to the district website, select Departments> Human Resources> Payroll> and Time Sheet. The record shall contain the following information: 1. Personal data (e.g. name, building location, employee number) 2. Hours worked on indicated days of pay period 3. Vacation days (where applicable) 4. Other leave days 5. Lost time and reason for same 6. Overtime hours, including comp time, (must be pre-approved, and include reason for comp/overtime) Employees should use comp time before any Personal or Vacation time. Part-time non-certificated personnel are required to utilize the time sheets to record the time worked during each pay period. Part-time, non-certificated personnel are required to verify work hours recorded and sign the time sheet at the end of the pay period before submission to the supervisor for signature. All time sheets must be signed by the supervisor (not stamped), with any comp time or overtime initialed by the supervisor, and then turned in to the Payroll Department. Part-time non-certificated personnel are to report to SubFinder, the employee attendance system, at 896-1SUB ( ) or on-line at subfinder.wws.k12.in.us/webconnect/login/login.asp at the earliest possible time in the event they are not able to report for work. E. Tardiness and Absences All employees are expected to arrive on time for work and are not to depart prior to his or her regularly scheduled quitting time. Any departure from this policy will require prior permission from the employee s supervisor. Lateness (10 minutes or more) requires notification to the supervisor. Uncontrollable situations that may warrant consideration are at the sole discretion of the immediate supervisor. Absences resulting in unpaid days will be considered excessive absences and may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination. 4

7 F. Overtime Any and all overtime will be worked only at supervisor request and with prior supervisor approval. Overtime wages will be paid only after forty (40) hours have been worked within a work week. A work week is the period of Sunday through Saturday. Compensation will be at one and one-half (1 ½) times the employee s regular hourly rate for hours worked over forty (40). However, hours worked greater than the employee s regularly scheduled work-day and up to forty (40) hours will be worked at regular pay. Hours worked do not include paid time off (PTO). The exception is 12 month central office and transportation employees who work overtime during a week where a holiday is observed or comp time is used. G. Lunch Time Each non-certificated employee will receive thirty (30) minutes for lunch each day. Non-certificated employees, except Security Guards, will not be paid for their lunch period. Security Guards will remain on duty during lunch and will be available as needed. H. Changes of Work Schedule Due to Inclement Weather When it is necessary to cancel or curtail school activities due to adverse weather conditions, these changes will be reported via local television, district website, Facebook and School Messenger. The following guidelines will be followed when work schedule changes are required: 1. School Cancellation When school is cancelled due to weather related or emergency conditions, the work schedule for non-certificated personnel will be as follows: a. Central Office employees and full-time building clerical staff will report to work at their regular schedule only if asked to do so by, or with permission from, their immediate supervisor. b. If a Central Office employee or full-time building clerical staff employee works on a cancellation day, the employee will be paid for the time worked. Each employee who works will need to complete an Exception Time Report and note hours worked under the non-pay status day section. c. If there are additional cancellation days after all make-up days are used, the administration will decide how each day will be used on a case by case basis. d. All other non-certificated employees will not report to work, and therefore, no payment will be made. e. The Transportation Director, Transportation Supervisor, and mechanics are exempt from this section as they will assess road conditions and work on vehicles, if necessary. 5

8 2. School Delays If school is delayed due to weather conditions or any other cause, the work schedule for non-certificated personnel will be as follows: a. All 12 month employees will report to work at their regular schedule. b. All other non-certificated employees may report to work at their regular schedule or may report to work based on the delay and will be paid only for time worked. c. Non-certificated employees may take comp or personal time, if available, or unpaid time, to make up for time missed due to the delay. 3. Early Dismissal From time to time weather conditions may deteriorate during the course of a school day necessitating early dismissal from school. Notification of early dismissal will be made through P.A. announcements in the schools, local television, district website, Facebook and School Messenger.. Instructional Assistants will be dismissed at the same time as students and will be paid for hours worked. All other clerical personnel will work their regular scheduled hours in the event of an early dismissal. If the weather continues to deteriorate severely, at the discretion of the Superintendent or designee, those clerical personnel may be sent home at any time before the end of their scheduled workday with no loss in pay. 4. Extended Work Days From time to time weather conditions may force the extension of a workday because students cannot be released. Should this happen, non-certificated employees will be required to remain at their work place until released by their supervisor. In this case, employees will be compensated for the extra time they work. 5. Make-up Days If the school year is extended to make up a day cancelled during the regular year, all non-certificated employees who are on less than a year-round schedule are to report to work. The Superintendent or designee may make exceptions to the above policies. Under no circumstances does the school corporation require any employee to risk life and/or limb in an attempt to arrive at work during inclement weather when a delay or cancellation has been made. If an employee is unable to report to work due to inclement weather, the employee shall be entitled to use any available comp, personal or vacation leave. 6

9 E. Personal Business Days (See Benefit Sheet) Personal leave should be approved by the supervisor at least two (2) working days before the anticipated use of the day(s). All unused personal business hours shall be rolled over to sick time on July 1 of each year, if applicable. F. Sick and Family Illness Leave Days (See Benefit Sheet) Procedures to be followed in the use of accumulated sick leave: 1. Employees shall report to SubFinder ( ) or subfinder.wws.k12.in.us/webconnect/login/login.asp as early as possible if unable to report for duty. 2. Employees may use sick leave and or family illness days for the following purposes including, but not limited to: a. Personal illness b. Doctor appointments c. Dentist appointments d. Illness in the immediate family (up to five (5) days of employee s sick leave days). Immediate family shall be defined as spouse, child, parent, brothers, sisters, grandparents, grandchildren and same relationship established by the present marriage. The employee may be asked to verify the nature of the illness to his/her supervisor. Subject to the requirements of the FMLA, the school corporation reserves the right to request a physician s statement to verify the nature of any illness G. Vacation (See Benefit Sheet) All non-certificated employees working 247 days or more per year shall be entitled to ten (10) times the number of work hours per day vacation leave after the completion of one (1) year of service in the year-round position, with fifteen (15) times the number of hours per day vacation leave after the completion of ten (10) years of service with the district, and twenty (20) times the number of hours per day vacation leave after the completion of fifteen (15) years of service with the district. Unused hours up to ten (10) times the number of hours per day may be carried forward into the coming year. After ten (10) times the number of hours per day are carried forward, if a positive balance exists, then the employee will be paid for unused vacation hours. The pay shall not exceed the total amount of compensation for a regular day of work, or may not exceed the per hour cost of the employee s salary. Employees are prohibited from carrying forward any more than ten times the number of hours per day into the next year and are encouraged to use all vacation days each year. 7

10 The Transportation Director and the Systems Integration Director will receive twenty (20) times the number of work hours per day vacation leave per year. Unused hours up to ten (10) times the number of hours per day may be carried forward into the coming year. With the written approval of the Superintendent and the employee s supervisor, after ten (10) times the number of hours per day are carried forward, if a positive balance exists, the employee will request payment for un-used vacation in writing to the Superintendent or designee. The pay shall not exceed the total amount of compensation for a regular day of work, or may not exceed the per hour cost of the employee s salary. Employees are prohibited from carrying forward any more than ten (10) times the number of hours per day into the next year and are encouraged to use all vacation days each year. Except at the discretion of the Superintendent, employees are not to take vacation or personal time during the week immediately preceding the beginning of the school year. Vacation must be scheduled and approved in advance by the appropriate supervisor. H. Medical Leave of Absence A leave of absence may be granted to any full-time non-certificated employee after one (1) year of employment, upon application and Superintendent s recommendation, for up to one calendar year. For the duration of a leave of absence, an employee s years of service will accrue. Benefits, other than insurance, will not accrue or be used. An employee may retain his/her insurance benefits by paying the full premium (employer s and employee s share as outlined in the benefit sheet) for a period not to exceed the length of the approved leave. Return to work, if leave is approved, will be made within the job that was vacated, if possible to do so. If the previously held position had to be filled during the employee s absence, then placement will be made in the closest comparable and compensable available job as determined by the Director of Human Resources. The employee must give written notification of intent to return to work at least forty (40) working days prior to the leave expiration date. If the employee fails to notify the school corporation of intent to return to work forty (40) working days before the leave expires, the school corporation will consider the employee to have resigned. I. Bereavement Leave In the event of death in the full-time, non-certificated employee s immediate family, the employee shall be entitled to be absent from work for the following period with no loss in pay: five (5) times the number of hours per day for death in the immediate family (spouse, child, parent, brothers, sisters, grandparents, grandchildren and same relationship established by the present marriage). 8

11 Also, full-time, non-certificated employees shall receive one (1) times the number of hours per day for a funeral in the family not covered above. Bereavement days off must be taken within two (2) weeks of the death. J. Jury Duty/Court Leave 1. A non-certificated employee called for grand or petit jury duty or subpoenaed to testify before a Legislative or Congressional body shall be paid full salary during the required period of absence from assigned duties by the Board, provided the total amount of per diem allowance earned by the employee is remitted to the School Corporation business office. 2. An employee in good standing summoned to testify before a court for reasons directly related to his/her employment at Westfield Washington Schools shall be paid full salary during the required period of absence. Likewise, if the employee is assigned by the Corporation to testify in an official capacity on behalf of a private party in connection with a judicial proceeding in which the United States, State, local government or the Corporation is a party, the employee shall receive full salary. To receive full pay for the duration of the leave, the employee must remit to the School Corporation business office the total amount of per diem allowance paid to the employee. 3. Additionally, unpaid leave shall be granted for absence due to a required appearance in court. In this regard: a. If the employee has good reason to be on another leave of absence, he/she may elect to use that leave. b. If the employee is in a non-pay status, he/she may not be granted court leave for court duty. c. During court leave, the employee shall not suffer loss of insurance entitlement subject to the underwriter s active work regulation. K. Family Medical Leave Act Leave of Absence An employee who requires leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) should request the leave as soon as practicable. Such a leave may be requested for a serious health condition (either the employee s own or that of the employee s spouse, child, or parent), a covered family member s deployment to active military duty, or for the serious injury or illness of a covered service member who is an employee s spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin. Such a leave must be requested in accordance with the corporation FMLA Policy (Policy ). L. Other Leave The school corporation discourages the use of leave without pay except in the case of an emergency. The Superintendent or his designee has the authority to grant up to five (5) days off without pay during the school year. Requests for leave without pay must be in writing and have prior written approval of the building principal and/or immediate supervisor. The building principal or immediate supervisor will provide a copy of the written request and approval to the Director of Human Resources (Superintendent s designee). 9

12 All other types of applicable leave (personal business, sick and/or vacation) must be used before requesting leave without pay. Leave without pay may be granted in exceptional circumstances. If an employee does not obtain proper approval for a leave without pay, they may be considered to have resigned their position. M. Voluntary Separation The following days will be paid out at the time of voluntary separation: Outstanding personal time Outstanding vacation time Outstanding comp time Outstanding sick and family illness days will not be paid out. III. COMPENSATION A. Direct Deposit Newly hired employees are required to have payroll direct deposit as a condition of employment. B. Evaluation Non-certificated personnel shall be evaluated by his/her immediate supervisor a minimum of one time during the school year. The results of these evaluations are to be in written form and discussed with the employee by his/her supervisor and signed by both parties. The supervisor shall retain one copy of the signed evaluation; one copy of the signed evaluation is to be given to the employee; and one copy is to be sent to the Superintendent s office to be placed in the employee s personnel file. The employee s signature on the evaluation does not indicate agreement with the evaluation, but indicates the evaluation was discussed with the employee by the supervisor. IV. EMPLOYEE BENEFITS A. Benefit Sheets Items such as sick leave, health insurance, etc. are outlined on Benefit Sheets for each employee. B. General Policies 1. Nondiscrimination Westfield Washington Schools is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and complies with applicable Federal and State laws prohibiting discrimination. 10

13 No person shall be discriminated against with regard to employment on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, ancestry, age, marital status, disability, or veteran status (Policy ). 2. Use of Internet, Intranet, , Voic , and Telephone School provided Internet, intranet, , voic , and telephones are school resources. Please review the school corporation s Employee Acceptable Use of Technology Policy , available on the website. 3. Complaints and Appeals Just as Westfield Washington Schools expects quality work, good attendance, and cooperation from each of its employees, its employees should expect fair treatment and respect from Westfield Washington Schools. If a noncertificated employee has a complaint or appeal, he/she should notify the appropriate person according to the following progression: a. Immediate supervisor b. Director of Human Resources c. Superintendent 4. Manual Policy This manual serves only as a guide to what can reasonably be expected in conducting the school corporation s business. Neither this manual nor any of its provisions constitute an employment agreement or contract of any kind. It does not guarantee future or continued employment. Each employee s compensation and employment can be terminated without cause and without notice at any time. No representative of the organization other than the Superintendent may enter into any agreement that is contrary to this policy. 5. Changes in Policy Policies and guidelines outlined in this manual are subject to change as work conditions and school corporation circumstances change. Amendments and revisions will be announced to the non-certificated workforce and updates will be issued in writing. The school corporation s intent is to update only those portions of the manual that contain changes. If any part of this manual is judged to be illegal under State or Federal law, such illegality shall be restricted to the portion in question only. All other policies shall remain in force. 6. Job Duties All non-certificated employees must perform their duties within the parameters of State and Federal law. Employees given direction by a supervisor, which contradicts Federal or State law, should report the incident immediately to the Director of Human Resources. 11

14 Westfield Washington Schools 322 West Main Street Westfield, IN V. RECEIPT OF NON-CERTIFICATED EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK The undersigned hereby acknowledges that he/she has received a Westfield Washington Schools Non-certificated Employee Handbook. Employee Signature Printed Date 12